// Information

To complement the regular Drag Brushing of your artificial sports pitch it is necessary to periodically remove the contaminants that build up on the surface. Failure to do so will result in dirt simply being moved around and worked into the carpet pile by the Drag Brushing process.

Debris can be blown onto the playing surface, washed down with rain or trafficked on by players’ footwear. These contaminants consist of anything from dust and carpet fibre within the infill to glass and leaves. Larger items can more easily be collected; however, to remove the finer debris special Power Sweeping machines will need to be employed.

Although finer debris may not be immediately apparent, over a period of time this contamination will begin to cause drainage problems, causing the surface to 'harden' and so changing the playing characteristics of the pitch.

Technical Surfaces uses different types of Power Sweeping machinery designed to combat this problem. The machines first clean the artificial carpet and process the infill using a series of filters and vacuums to help remove the contaminants and dust, before laying the clean infill back into the synthetic sports surface. At the same time, a Drag Mat on the rear of the machine redistributes and levels the infill, providing a smarter appearance.

All machines incorporate side brooms to ensure that edge-to-edge cleaning is achieved. This is particularly important where debris can be blown up against kickboards. The frequency of Power Sweeping will be dependent on each individual circumstance, taking into account the in-house equipment available, age of the pitch, its usage and so on. Normally, a programme of monthly or bi monthly Power Sweeps complementing weekly in-house Drag Brushing will ensure optimum pitch condition. Where no Drag Brushing is carried out, a fortnightly Power Sweeping programme should be adopted.